After buying some nicer Japanese knives recently, I thought I would look into good cutting boards to accompany the cutlery. I certainly don’t want to be too hard on my new blades and dull them prematurely. Here is what I found browsing the cooking forums and reading product reviews.
eGullet by far has the most extensive discussion on cutting boards, and at the end of all the posting, it boiled down to a gush-fest over the cutting boards made by David Smith at boardsmith.com. The picture above is an example of his beautifully made, handcrafted cutting boards. And after all my reading on the subject, I must admit that I want one too.
In terms of other cutting boards, the brands that kept coming up in the discussion and were generally recommended were: Boos, Epicurean, Totally Bamboo, and Sani-TUFF.
I personally own Epicurean and Totally Bamboo, and I like both brands. I have noticed some premature scarring on them, but I have seen nothing related to the more negative comments on Amazon.com. It probably helps though that I have several different types and sizes of cutting boards, and I rotate them and use them for different purposes. Essentially I spread the wear across all the boards and use some only for specific purposes.
With that said, after reviewing Amazon.com and the forums I will list some of the concerns about different boards.
- John Boos/Boardsmith (butcher block end-grain boards)
Pros: Easy on knives, beautiful and high quality, and weight prevents slipping. Cons: Expensive, need to care for them more gently, can’t go in dishwasher, and they are heavy and cumbersome if you get a big size.
- Sani-TUFF (rubber cutting board)
Pros: Easy on knives, durable, doesn’t slide, can go in dishwasher, and supposedly doesn’t absorb liquids or odors. Cons: Really heavy, doesn’t give you that cutting block feel with a knife (it’s grabby).
- Totally Bamboo (bamboo cutting board)
Pros: Sustainable material, relatively light weight, affordable, bonding agent for bamboo is food safe with this brand (others may not be). Cons: Bamboo is a hardwood/grass so it is also hard on knife blades, some people have reported problems with warping, and the surface may scar too easily.
- Epicurean (composite cutting board)
Pros: Dishwasher safe, knife friendly, and very light weight. Cons: Some models slide around too much, some say coating comes off in food, and surface can scar easily.
Of course reviews on Amazon.com can be rather one sided, especially if someone received a defective product. And cutting boards are dependent upon the user. Do you use one board for everything or have multiple boards and different sizes? Do you have really sharp knives or dull knives? Do you have expensive knives that you want to be gentle on?
A person also needs to consider countertop space, sink size, and the weight of the board for handling. I wouldn’t give my Grandmother and end-grain board or the heavy rubber Sani-Tuff. But a foodie with good knives may want to consider these options. In the end, the sign of a good cutting board is one that is used a lot and feels good when cutting.
With that said, here is some points from the cooking forums and Amazon product reviews that might be useful.
(1) Try not to use butcher-block, end-grain boards for poultry or raw meat if you find it difficult to clean. And if possible, try isolate one board for raw meats and use it only for that purpose.
(2) With Epicurean, you might want to avoid the black-colored (slate) boards as any board shards that come off may be visible in your food.
(3) Plastic boards and really hard woods (including bamboo) are harder on knives. If you have expensive cutlery and care about knife sharpness, you may want to consider more knife friendly boards.
(4) There is a heated debate about plastic versus wooden cutting boards. I will not get into this debate here, but there is a good post on KnifeForum that summarizes the issues pretty well. The bottom line: know your boards, use them appropriately, and clean them very well.
Lastly, here are some cutting board options and sites I think a person might want to check out . Happy cutting.
Totally Bamboo Hana Cutting Board
Sani-TUFF Cutting board 12in x 18in x 75in
Catskill Craftsmen Cutting Boards
Michigan Maple Block Cutting Boards
Japanese Knife Sharpening Store (very expensive but nice)
